Hello,
I’m sorry to hear that you’re experiencing issues with your sitemap. The “Couldn’t fetch” error in Google Search Console can be quite frustrating. To resolve this issue, you can follow a few troubleshooting steps.
Firstly, you can validate your sitemap using the Validate XML Sitemap tool to ensure it is correctly configured. Once done, click VALIDATE SITEMAP and if it’s correctly configured, the tool will return a success message.
If the sitemap is correctly configured, you should also ensure that it is located in the root folder of your WordPress installation. This means there should only be one forward slash between your domain name and the sitemap path.
Additionally, you should ensure that your posts are set to index. You can do this by heading over to Rank Math SEO → Titles & Meta and enabling the Index checkbox in the Robots Meta settings.
If the issue persists, you can also try flushing the sitemap cache by navigating to Rank Math SEO → Sitemap Settings and increasing the value of the Links Per Sitemap by one. Then save your settings and navigate to Settings → Permalinks and click Save Changes to ensure the current settings are applied.
If none of these steps resolve the issue, you may need to exclude the sitemap from caching. You can refer to our knowledgebase article on how to exclude sitemaps from caching for detailed instructions.
Lastly, you should ensure that you have added the correct version of your sitemap to Google Search Console. Your site has four possible URL variations, and you should ensure you added the correct URL variation to Google Search Console.
I hope these steps help resolve the issue. If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please feel free to ask.
Sources:
Troubleshooting the “Couldn’t Fetch” Error in Google Search Console » Rank Math
Rank Math Sitemap Issues and Their Fixes » Rank Math
On my existing sites, the path to the sitemap is: /page-sitemap.xml
But on the new site it is: index.php/page-sitemap.xml
The robot answer includes this: “If the sitemap is correctly configured, you should also ensure that it is located in the root folder of your WordPress installation. This means there should only be one forward slash between your domain name and the sitemap path.”
But it critically does not say how to change this. I hope to hear from you ASAP.
Turns out this was all due to the permalink settings. Simply needed to change it to ‘post’.
Hello,
We are glad to hear that this issue has been resolved. Thank you for letting us know. This ticket will be closed now, but you can always open a new one if you have any other questions or concerns. We are here to help you with anything related to Rank Math.
We appreciate your patience and cooperation throughout this process.
Thank you for choosing Rank Math.
